Young Aussies Could Be Eligible for the Pfizer or Moderna Jab by September or October

More doses of mRNA vaccines are arriving in Aus.

Australia’s COVID vaccine rollout has been under major scrutiny over the last few weeks, not just on home soil, but by other countries noting that we’ve had one of the worst rollouts in the world.

As of writing this article, only eight per cent of the country is vaccinated and many politicians, the media and the general public have been loud in their outrage at how chaotic the current rollout has been.

Shocking that Australia is so far behind in vaccination rollouts. At least with the NSW outbreak, Scotty might wake up and actually do something. Not holding my breath tho😳

— Barry (@bazrad68) July 6, 2021

So, it’s always good news to here that more vaccines may be available to broader age brackets sooner than we thought.

On Tuesday morning, Lieutenant General John Frewen told reporters that Aussies under 40 (and over 16) could get access to both the Pfizer and the Moderna vaccines around “September to October.”

“On the current supply forecasts that we have… I think that’s when we are getting closer to having greater choice,” he said.

“But I won’t tie myself to specific dates at this stage.”  

Lieutenant General Frewen also stated that he is “very confident” that any Aussie who wants to get the jab this year, will be able to and that under 40s will get to choose between the Pfizer and Moderna, once supplies are up.

This latest update to Pfizer arrivals now confirms Lieutenant General Frewen’s initial guess that most Aussies could get vaccinated by the end of the year.

I'd be interested to know if older Australians will also be allowed to choose which vaccine they receive - it's seems incredible that those 60+ are only able to access AZ - will this change at this time? I know many in that age group are waiting - not wanting to risk TTS

— Smile like you mean it 🎶 (@inmelbourne8) July 6, 2021

The availability of the mRNA vaccines to include under 40s comes a week after Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced that anyone under the age of 40 (and over 16 of course) wanting to get the AstraZeneca vaccine can do so.

Last week, half the states in Australia went into another series of lockdowns (or increased restrictions), so now more than ever, the need to get people vaccinated has never been so important. However, most health advice recommends that people under 40 should not get the AstraZeneca vaccine unless they are in “pressing” circumstances.

This is due to the link between recipients of the vaccine and rare blood clotting issues. Though it is a concern, Australia’s Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly said the side-effect is rare.

The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines differ slightly from the AstraZeneca one, as they’re both mRNA vaccines.

Basically, the Pfizer vaccine contains some genetic material matter called mRNA. When this is injected into a person the body grows a “spike protein” of SARS-CoV-2, which ultimately makes the body react with an immune response that it will remember when it comes into contact with the real and active virus.

Unfortunately, prior to Mr Morrison's announcement, national cabinet and GPs were not consulted on the changes to the AstraZeneca rollout, which caused confusion and disagreement within the states and major medical bodies.

Tbh, most young people weren’t sure if getting the AztraZeneca jab was a good idea or not, which isn’t ideal.

Thankfully, with the Pfizer and Moderna jabs being available to younger Aussies soon, hopefully the conflicting advice will come to an end and more Aussies will be able to get their vax.

Header Image: Spencer Davis via Unsplash